This invention relates generally to shoe support apparatus and, more particularly, to an improved shoe mount and support apparatus on which a shoe can be held for cleaning and shining.
For the well-dressed man or woman, cleaned and polished shoes are a required and necessary part of the wardrobe. In order for such persons to keep their shoes in an acceptable condition, they are typically required to regularly inspect and maintain the same. Unless the wearer can afford to pay another person to clean and shine his shoes, he must handle the task himself and it can be a very time consuming, inconvenient and messy job.
Since cleaning and shining shoes while wearing them is often an uncomfortable task, and for some persons even impossible, a device upon which shoes can be mounted conveniently for polishing is desirable. Previously devised apparatus intended to ease and simplify the shoe cleaning and shining process have ranged from nothing more than simple, static shoe trees to large, complicated and expensive power driven devices. Two such devices, by way of example, can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,641,617 and 4,109,335.
Although these prior apparatus have performed generally satisfactorily for their particular designs, a number of problems exist. For example, a problem of widespread concern to potential manufacturers and merchants of shoe shine apparatus of the larger, power-driven variety is the limited marketability of such expensive and complicated devices. It is generally recognized that consumers of this particular type of product have no desire to spend large sums of money for a device which will require anything more than a minimal effort to learn how to use effectively, nor are they willing to invest in a device which does not lend itself to convenient, out of the way storage.
Existing devices of simpler and more economical design generally have other shortcomings. Typically they are not designed to hold a shoe independent of the user so that both hands are free to perform a thorough cleaning and high-gloss polishing job. It will be appreciated that having both hands free is particularly required for proper use of a traditional polishing rag. Such devices also are not designed to support the shoe in a convenient mid-height location to eliminate bending and stooping. Further, they usually cannot accomodate a wide range of shoe sizes from children's shoes to the larger adult sizes.
Thus, there has remained a need for an improved, simplified and inexpensive shoe support apparatus that is lightweight, rugged, compact and portable and that will adequately and independently support a wide range of shoe sizes and make the shoeshine or cleaning operation more convenient. The present invention clearly fulfills these needs.